DENVER (AP) Large wildfires grew across the American West on Wednesday, keeping thousands of people out of their homes for the July 4 holiday and forcing some strict bans on fireworks to prevent new fires from igniting in the hot, dry region.
The National Inter-agency Fire Center on Wednesday reported more than 60 large, active blazes across the country, most in the drought-stricken West where holiday festivities could lead to increased fire danger.
The third-largest fire in recorded Colorado history kept expanding, chewing through 147 square miles near Fort Garland, about 205 miles southwest of Denver.
